Friday, January 28, 2011

After the "static" we all went fin-swimming. The proper swimming
technique is very important for a freediver because it allows him to
push himself through the water column most optimally. I decided to try
to swim in long freediving fins and borrowed a pair from a guy who had
the same foot size as I have.

This
is what I saw waking up every morning

He was learning to swim in a monofin at
that time and didn't need them. The fins were too large for me and felt
loose on my feet, so I attached them to my feet with rubber bands. That
helped and I was not afraid to lose the fins, but the friction of the
loose rubber foot pockets on my feet was still pretty uncomfortable. Of
our group of beginners, nobody could swim properly in fins because
nobody had ever been taught. So, instructor Oksana set off on a task of
teaching us.

In the morning two experienced guys went spearfishing with local
instructor Wolfgang. And for the rest of us a training on "static",
i.e., static breath-hold was scheduled. It is clear that the
breath-hold abilities are of first-rate importance for freedivers: the
longer you can hold your breath, the longer you can stay under water
and the greater depth you can reach. Besides, the "static" in itself is
one of the competitive disciplines in freediving.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

The next day, having arrived at Club Serena at 8 am, I discovered that
the yoga had already started. I asked, and it turned out it started at
6:15. Oops! We agreed that I would come at 10 and I went "home" for
breakfast.

Sea
view from "Blue Orchid"

On that day we had a boat trip planned. Since I got cold on the
previous day without a wetsuit, I finally decided to suit up. However,
I reasoned that my open cell wetsuit would be too thick for the
tropical water. I asked Mark, the manager of my hotel, if there was an
appropriate wetsuit I could borrow. He nodded and answered that I could
choose from the suits for hire in the dive shop. I chose the ordinary
3mm steamer that seemed just right.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

It's been quite some time since I wrote these lines. And, perhaps, if I
were writing this now, I wouldn't write it in the same way - my views
on many things changed. But re-reading it again, I decided to leave
everything as it is. These are my impressions, captured in writing;
they reflect what I thought and felt back then, and this is precisely
why they are valuable. I learned a lot during those 12 days... But I
will not jump ahead. Read on and you'll see for yourself.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

In March 2010 I went to
Cebu Island of the Philippines with a group of Russian freedivers. This
is my diary of what happened there. It is a long story; so, sit back,
relax, and enjoy the reading.

Looking at the map, I find it hard to believe that the Philippines are
so far from Australia. Indeed, if there were direct flights from
Australia, it would not be so far away. But, unfortunately, none of the
airlines have direct flights from Melbourne to Cebu Island of the
Philippines where I was going. Therefore I had to fly to Singapore
first (seven hours) and from Singapore to the Philippines (four more
hours). That was certainly closer than from Moscow, but still a long
way. However, I should not complain. By Australian standards it is
practically around the corner. I bought the tickets so that I would
meet the team of Russian freedivers midway – at the Singapore
airport –
and then we would fly to the Philippines on the same plane. The
seven-hour flight from Melbourne to Singapore was quite easy, except
for the flight being delayed for an hour, and I managed to sleep almost
through. Interestingly, despite the night flight (the departure from
Melbourne was at 1 a.m.), the Singaporeans offered a supper immediately
after take-off and climb – at 3 o'clock in the morning. I
wisely
declined the "supper".